Science-Art Scumble #25

Kalliopi Monoyios is an independent science illustrator and a certified science geek. She is the illustrator of three popular science books: Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish and The Universe Within, and Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True. Find her at www.kalliopimonoyios.com and @eyeforscience.

Katie McKissick is a former high school biology teacher turned science writer and cartoonist based in Los Angeles, CA. Her first book is called What’s in Your Genes? and will be in bookstores December 2013. She tweets @beatricebiology. Her work can be found at www.beatricebiologist.com.

Several weeks ago I was asked by the folks at PangeaSeed if I would be interested in donating a shark-themed artwork for an upcoming event, to raise awareness about the barbaric and cruel practise of shark fin harvesting.

…PangeaSeed is a Japan-based organisation, and following on from an exhibition of shark works in Tokyo earlier in the year, they are holding a second show…

Kaitlin Beckett’s creations run the gamut from samurai sea-life to steampunk birds. It takes a modern understanding of animals to reflect on zoology and create the bizarre denizens of her Curious Bestiary, and Beckett’s a master at creating alternative species.

The Cycle of Paleo-Art Mythology – ART Evolved. Craig Dylke continues the discussion (war?) between paleo-art as small imbrella scientific illustration, or paleo-art as big umbrella encompassing all types of fantasy and science alike.

Scumble: ”A painting technique in which semi-opaque or thin opaque colors are loosely brushed over an underpainted area so that patches of the color beneath show through.”
From The Artist’s Handbook, by Ray Smith.

This began as a series of posts on my personal blog, The Flying Trilobite, as a way to brush highlights over the tremendous amount of science-based art that’s out there. I can’t begin to cover it all, so here’s a scumble over some recent posts that I found interesting, provocative, or otherwise caught my eye from the Science Artists Feed, and other sources.

Science-art is becoming an increasingly popular form of science communication and entertainment. Drawing from fine art, laboratory work, scientific illustration, concept art and more, watch how artists spread scientific literacy and play with the inspiring concepts in science. Doing the Scumble posts, I hope to connect artists with each other, and expose their work to a wider audience. Remember, a lot of these artists are available for commissions and have online shops for original art and reproductions. Why not put some art on your wall that means something more than “weird for the sake of weird”?

Put your feet up, make yourself an espresso and enjoy the science-art on the links above.

2 Comments

That’s great you are featuring Kaitlin Beckett’s work on here! Ever since I found her blog about 6 months ago, I’ve always enjoyed and looked forward to seeing new creatures coming from the Curious Bestiary.